EACH YEAR I ;eld lots
of questions concerning
which wines to serve at
;anksgiving festivities.

Friends and family alike
are perplexed by this particular holiday meal for
food and wine pairings.

;e broad ;avor spectrum of a turkey spread,
with all the splendor of salty, buttery, rich,
savory, sweet and tart, can make for some
challenging wine choices. But the ;avor spectrum of wines is equally broad, and, with a
little contemplation, you can enhance one of
everyone’s favorite meals of the year.

Because palates and tastes di;er, a couple
of important points should be considered
when choosing wine. What do you and your
guests normally enjoy drinking? And precisely what dishes are you trying to complement? I prefer to set a number of di;erent
wines on the table and let the guests determine what most appeals to their palates.

Starting the day with sparkling wine isalways appropriate. ;e sounds of opening thepressurized bottle and seeing the beautifulpale golden bubbles rise in a crystal glass makesparkling wine an occasion in itself. TracieRueffer, our Texas and Louisiana regionalbuyer, quotes F. Scott Fitzgerald: “Too much ofanything is bad, but too much Champagne isjust right!”Rue;er has a fondness for all things bub-bly. She goes on to explain, “Sparkling wine islaughter in a bottle, both fun and fancy. Popopen a bottle, watch the bubbles rise and toastlife every day.”As for ;anksgiving, Rue;er further sug-gests, “;e palate-cleansing bubbles make fora perfect pairing with appetizers and ;ngerfoods, especially with a glass of a favorite roséChampagne.” ;ere are many wallet-friendlyChampagne alternatives that deliver tremen-dous value and ;avors, such as the terri;csparklers from California, Italy and Spain.

Scott Larson, a Northwest regional buyer,
notes that sparkling wine instantly reminds
him of happy times: “;ere’s no better way to
celebrate than with a glass of bubbles. ;e
crisp, acidic nature of the wine is considered
by many as the ultimate food wine.”

White varieties

While some consider chardonnay a ques-tionable choice for the ;anksgiving table, itis the best-selling varietal in the U.S., andtherefore shouldn’t be ignored. Tina Boyle,Los Angeles regional buyer, loves chardonnaybecause “it displays all kinds of ;avors, espe-cially the tropical expressions that I enjoy with;anksgiving turkey.”Boyle feels chardonnay is great for some-one new to wine, as the grape is “very approach-able and guaranteed to leave you smiling.”Chardonnay is made in a plethora of styles.

For ;anksgiving, choose an unoaked (not
aged in oak barrels) chardonnay or a fruity,
leaner style, as these will pair best with the
typical variety of dishes.

Another food-friendly white wine is riesling. Germany, Austria, Washington state and
New York state are all sources for quality ries-